Just Before Dawn
by Arcadiana
Summary: [ZK] Sometimes, its darkest just before dawn. Drabble series. Seasons 1 through 3.
1. Prisoner of War

**Prisoner of War  
**_Post-"The Crossroads of Destiny"  
_Rating **K** (G)

* * *

She had given up struggling against the chains hours earlier. It was a hopeless cause. The could wrought iron was starting to cut into her skin, and after lacerations on both wrists, she figured it was for the best to stop.

Somewhere along the line, the binding that held her chocolate hair back in its braid had fallen out, her locks cascaded over her shoulders messily. Not that she cared.

Two pointed grey boots came into view. She raised her head, tracing up from the floor to recognize the owner of the boots.

The grey-brown pointed boots ended at her captor's knees, continuing to grey pants and dark red armor. Different shades of red and black decorated this armor, and Katara did not even have to look up to see the rest, past the golden-threaded collar.

If she had, she would find two golden eyes, one surrounded by a flame shaped scar.

In the bottom of her chest, she felt her heart hardening.

No words were spoken, none needed to be. Katara refused to look up, hanging her head along with the rest of her tired body, suspended only by the iron chains connected to the wall behind her.

The cell's door was opened, the iron bars sliding back to present an opening for access.

Katara clenched her teeth, closing her eyes tightly, refusing to acknowledge the other person's presence.

She tried her hardest to be somewhere else.

The locks on her chains were undone, and she slumped to the ground before standing up. Her blue eyes met two golden ones, and a mess of black hair, unruly in the night.

No words were said.

She simply followed him, like a dog and its master, out of the cell and to the next door in the warship.

He opened it silently, no conversation in either of the two teen's minds. The room was originally designed for the launching of landing craft, the same sort of room Zuko escaped from Zhao's ship on.

This time, there were no landing boats, just the wide open window.

This time, there was no plan for infiltration, no espionage or spying.

This time, there were two teenagers, two enemies, who did not know what had become of them.

This time, it was Katara and Zuko. Not Prince Zuko and the Waterbender.

Last time was a forever ago.

And forever can change alot.

Katara glanced at the opening, a means of escape. Finally, she dared to look at the exiled Prince.

"I don't understand you."

Zuko closed his eyes, sighing tiredly. "I don't either."

The opening in the ships hull was there for a landing boat's storage, but currently, the small room was empty, with only the open air window, ten feet long and eight feet high.

"Why are you doing this?" Katara asked, walking toward the opening. She turned back to Zuko, who slowly followed her to the edge of the hull.

"I don't know."

There was silence as Katara looked out to the midnight sky. A light breeze blew off the ocean, waves lapping against the huge warship's hull.

"I don't want to trust you." She finally said, the consequences of the last time she trusted him clear in her mind.

"I wouldn't want you to. You, whether you like it or not, are different from me, and I from you."

"And I am not complaining about that."

Somehow, that's always how it was. Harsh words and fighting, hatred and obsession. At least the relationship between the two was habitual.

"Zuko..."

"Just shut up and go."

Katara looked flabbergasted. The boy's temper had reverted back to its original, pre-refugee state.

She did have to admit, even with his ragged hair, the sight of him in his armor again made him look regal. And scary.

And so much different from the person she was trapped with in the cave.

"I just..."

Zuko grabbed her arms, tightly holding them as Katara looked horrified. "Go."

Shaking her head lightly, she gazed into his hard, but tired golden eyes, captivated. "Maybe...you did change..."

The Prince gritted his teeth, "One good deed does not forgive a lifetime of bad ones."

"What?"

Zuko shook his head, a forlorn look across his face. Almost painfully, he whipped his arms out toward the sea. Katara gasped, her body forced into the air violently.

She felt his grip on her arms let go, her feet leaving the ground, her body flying backwards.

Time stopped in that moment.

In that moment, Katara seemed to float in the air, two stories above the ocean. Her body flailed as she was thrown from the ship. She had a horrified look on her face.

Zuko stood still, a remorseful and almost regretful look crossing his features. Katara couldn't pry herself from those golden eyes, in that one instant they remained connected.

Then time started again. Katara plummeted into the seas, taking a few moments to regain her watery prowess. A bubble of air surrounded her as she dove deeper, propelling herself in the general direction of the shore.

Zuko watched her escape to safety, and however small, however minute, a weight was lifted from his chest.

He could hear footsteps from down the hallway. All he needed to do was turn around to wait for the door to open.

The iron door opened slowly, with slender fingers pushing it back.

There was no need for words. Both knew exactly what was going on.

Zuko just gazed back to meet equally golden eyes. He didn't need anything anymore. He was torn in between two lives, two people, two halves of himself.

And Azula simply glared.

* * *

Lady Windsong  
December 8, 2006 


	2. What Hurts The Most

This has to be the most clichéd Zutara ficlet ever conceived, but I was listening to the song and felt inspiration. I know, its bad. Forgive a lovesick author who idolizes stupid love songs like this.

**What Hurts The Most  
**Post-"The Crossroads of Destiny"  
Rating **T** (PG-13)

* * *

_  
What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away.

* * *

_  
Aang had slept for the last five hours. The Earth King dozed off somewhere around four hours ago against the already sleeping Bosco. 

Sokka slept soundly for the last three hours, and even Toph, who could hardly sit still on Appa while soaring through the air, lay sleeping. Her small, pale hands clutched onto Sokka's arm, a point that Katara took with interest.

They flew parallel to the horizon, to the south. The sun was far from rising, the dark purple hue painted thickly on the canvas that was the sky.

Katara could not sleep. In the last day, her life, and even the fate of the world had changed hands too many times to count.

Aang had come so close to dying. The Oasis water, finally, found a recipient with a noble enough cause for its healing powers.

To think, she had almost wanted to use it before…

The Earth Kingdom had fallen. Ba Sing Se belonged to the Fire Lord.

Belonged to Azula.

Belonged to Zuko.

That's the real reason she could not sleep. That's the real reason she sat on Appa's head, watching the world pass below them.

However noble it might have been to be preoccupied with the sacking of Ba Sing Se, the loss of the Earth Kingdom, and Aang's health, the one thing that raced through Katara's mind was a pair of golden eyes.

A pair of downcast golden eyes and a pale face, a scar and a mess of dark brown hair. A boy who did not recoil or flinch as her fingers brushed over the red skin 'gracing' the left side of his face.

The skin was dry, rough, and fragile. It encompassed everything that Katara thought Zuko was, this boy who had kidnapped her, fought with her, was imprisoned with her.

She was so close, so, so close. His breath was hot on her fingertips, and she dared to brush her thumb across his lips, and even those were warm, warmer than she had anticipated.

In that instant, it felt as if she was touching a flame itself, a dangerous game that made her all the more curious. She began to want, something she had not done for a very, very long time.

And maybe, in that instant before the walls crashed in on them, Zuko stopped being a Firebender and started being a boy.

He was, in fact, wanted by the Fire Nation for treason. If the enemy of the enemy was my friend, where does that put Zuko?

It put Zuko back on the pedestal he was born on. Back next to his sister, back with the Fire Nation.

He told her he was the same; he told her they took his mother away too. All the malice and hate she had originally felt for him crashed to the floor, he looked so sad, so alone.

Katara always had an overly pious personality. Hate was such a strong word.

Hating took too much energy.

It was said that there was a certain place in hell reserved for traitors, for double crossers. That two-timers were said to be the worst of all sinners, even murderers.

Prince Zuko had betrayed the Fire Nation, he had betrayed his father, his sister. He had betrayed Admiral Zhao.

Refugee Zuko betrayed the Earth Kingdom, he had betrayed his uncle, his new home. He had betrayed Katara.

Katara hated Zuko because she felt for him, compassion that made her heart ache inside her chest.

Katara hated Zuko because he chose Azula's side.

Katara hated Zuko because he contributed in Aang's near fatal injuries.

But in her mind what mattered most was that Katara hated Zuko. He made her hate him. He made her spend all this time and energy despising him for betraying her.

Then why did her chest ache?

An empty hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be. That weight hurt more than any of the singes on her skin from his fire or Azula's lightning.

Deep down, Katara prayed for Zuko.

Prayed that he wouldn't be in that inner circle of hell when he went to the Spirit world.

Prayed that he would find his way back to his Uncle.

And prayed that he wouldn't hurt her again.

Because the rope burn on her wrists from when he kidnapped her went away in three days. The burns from the North Pole healed. Even the singes from only hours earlier didn't sting as much.

But the heavy feeling in her chest hurt more than anything else.

Because she opened her heart to him.

Katara is a healer. She could bring a seemingly dead boy back to life. She can heal bruises and cuts and scrapes. Even scars.

But a broken heart, Katara knows, as the tears begin to slide down her face…

This is what hurts the most.

* * *

END 

"What Hurts The Most"- Rascal Flatts

Arcadiana  
January 16, 2007


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